The 2024 Qiang New Year celebration was held in Maoxian county, Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, in Sichuan province on Friday.

The ethnic Qiang people of Maoxian, Wenchuan, Lixian, Songpan and Heishui in Aba as well as those from Beichuan Qiang autonomous county and Pingwu county in the city of Mianyang, Sichuan, gathered in Maoxian to celebrate their most important festival with singing and dancing and a banquet with over 1,000 people on a square in the Ancient Chinese Castle of Erma in Maoxian.

In 2008, the Qiang New Year festival was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative items, and in 2009, it was included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by the UNESCO.

Aba, which has strong Tibetan and Qiang customs and world-class scenic spots including Jiuzhaigou, a scenic area on the UNESCO World Heritage list, is building itself into an international eco-cultural tourism destination, said Zhao Shouchun, head of the prefecture's bureau of culture, radio, television, sports and tourism, in a press conference right before the Qiang New Year celebration.